Children and Nature InitiativeObesity-Related Diseases Hypertension • BMI

Children and Nature Initiative

in partnership with


•  Goal: connect children with nature for health benefits

•  Create Nature Champions: build capacity among pediatric health care providers to be leaders in prescribing nature

•  Refer families to a park or nature center within economically, racially/ethnically, and culturally diverse communities

•  Partners National Audubon Society and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service provide active nature programming

Advisory Committee Janet Ady- U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Sophie Balk, MD- Children’s Hospital at Montefiore Stephanie Chalupka, EdD, RN, PHCNS-BC, FAAOHN-

Worcester State College Jean Sheerin Coffey, PhD, CPNP- Essex Pediatrics/University

of Vermont; Representative, National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners

Mark Cucuzzella, MD- West Virginia University/Harpers Ferry Family Medicine

Ruth Etzel, MD, PhD- George Washington University Joel Forman, MD- Mount Sinai Medical Center Catherine Karr, MD, PhD- University of Washington Dee Merriam, FASLA- Centers for Disease Control and

Prevention Evelyn Montalvo Stanton, MD- Pediatric Pulmonary Medicine/

University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey; Representative, National Hispanic Medical Association

Advisory Committee Deborah Pontius, RN, MSN, NCSN- Pershing County, NV

School District; Representative, National Association of School Nurses

Chuck Remington- National Audubon Society James Roberts, MD, MPH- Medical University of South

Carolina; Representative, American Academy of Pediatrics Bonnie Rogers, DrPH, COHN-S, LNCC- University of North

Carolina at Chapel Hill Safiya Samman- U.S. Forest Service James Subudhi- WE ACT for Environmental Justice Myrtis Sullivan, MD, MPH- Illinois Department of Human

Services; Representative, National Medical Association Lois Wessel, CFNP- Association of Clinicians for the

Underserved Nsedu Obot Witherspoon, MPH- Children’s Environmental

Health Network

Overview: Burden of Obesity and ADHD in Childhood

Objectives

•  Review the growing prevalence of obesity and related diseases

•  Review the growing prevalence of mental health disorders such as ADHD

•  Understand the relationship of changing lifestyles of US children to this change

•  Understand the impact of these chronic conditions on adult disease burden

Obesity & Related Conditions

Obesity •  16.9% of children ages 2-19 are obese

(BMI ≥ 95%ile)1 •  31.7% are overweight (BMI ≥ 85%ile)1

Childhood obesity predicts adult morbidity •  80% of obese youth become obese adults2

Related conditions •  Type-2 diabetes, hypertension (HTN) •  Metabolic syndrome

1Ogden CL et al. JAMA 2010;303(3):242-249. 2Whitaker RC et al. NEJM 1997;337:869-73.

Type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM) •  Formerly known as adult-onset diabetes •  ~ 186,300 children had Type I and Type II

DM in 20071 •  3,700 children diagnosed with Type II DM

each year1

•  CDC estimates: 1 in 3 children born in 2000 will develop DM if present obesity trends are not reversed2

Obesity-Related Diseases

1CDC National diabetes fact sheet 2007 2Narayan KN et al. JAMA 2003:290:1884-90.

Obesity-Related Diseases

Hypertension •  BMI <85th %ile: 2.6% of children with HTN •  BMI ≥95th %ile: 10.7% with HTN1

Cardiovascular disease •  High cholesterol levels, abnormal glucose

tolerance, and HTN in children2 •  Overweight adolescents are at increased risk

of coronary heart disease and early death 3

1Sorof J et al. Pediatrics 2004;113:475-82. 2Dietz W. Pediatrics 1998;101:518–25. 3Ludwig DS. NEJM 2007;357:2325–27.

Asthma •  Overweight children at increased risk for developing

asthma, other respiratory problems1, asthma hospitalizations2

Possible relationships between asthma and sedentary lifestyles, including lack of physical activity and television viewing3,4

Other Medical Issues

1Schachter LM. Thorax 2001;56:4-8. 2 Bender B et al. Pediatrics, 2007;120:805-13. 3Rasmussen F. European Respiratory Journal 2000;16:866-70. 4Sheriff A, et al. Thorax 2009;64:321-5.

Other Medical Issues

Vitamin D Deficiency •  9% of US children are vitamin D deficient •  61% are insufficient1

•  Physical activity associated with vitamin D levels2

Mental Health – ADHD/ADD •  Variable estimates, but prevalence is increasing

•  National Health Interview Survey estimates 9% of US children with ADHD/ADD3

•  Impairs school performance and socialization; may persist into adulthood

¹Kumar J, et al. Pediatrics 2009;124:e362-70 ²Ohta H, et al. J Bone Miner Metab 2009;27:682-8 ³Pastor PN, et al. Vital Health Stat 2008;10:237

Physical activity reduces risk for •  Coronary artery disease, HTN •  Diabetes, osteoporosis, colon cancer

The US is shifting to a sedentary lifestyle Physical activity in adulthood begins in

childhood •  40% of adults report NO leisure physical

activity¹ •  Kids learn by watching their parents

Active vs. Sedentary Lifestyle

¹ Center for Health Statistics. Health, United States, 2007 with Chartbook on Trends in the Health of Americans. 2007.

Nationwide shift in physical activity •  Active teens become active adults •  In 2005, only 35% of HS students met

recommended level of physical activity Growth in electronic media

•  21% played videogames >3 hours daily1

•  Average child watches 3 hours TV daily2 •  7.5 hours per day spent with all forms of e-

media (TV, Internet, chats, games, etc)3

Obesity & Physical Activity

¹CDC. Youth risk behavior surveillance 2005. MMWR 2006;55:SS-5 ²AAP, Committee Public Ed. Pediatrics 2001;107:423-6 ³Rideout VJ et al. Kaiser Family Foundation Report. 2010

Growth in electronic media •  32% of 2-7 year-olds & 65% of 8-18 year-olds

have TVs in bedrooms¹ Time spent in front of TV or computer = time not

spent being physically active Estimated 25% loss of play time and 50% loss in in

unstructured outdoor activity² No Child Left Behind 2001

•  Increased time for reading and math •  But at the expense of physical education³

Obesity & Physical Activity

¹ Roberts DF et al. Henry J Kaiser Family Foundation Report, 1999. ² Juster FT et al. Changing Times of American Youth: 1981-2003. University of Michigan, 2004. ³ Dillon S. Schools cut back subjects to push reading and math. New York Times March 26; 2006.

Health Benefits of Nature & Outdoor Activity

Part I: Physical Health

Objectives

•  Review the evidence surrounding health and activity levels of children, particularly as they pertain to natural environments

•  Understand the benefits of outdoor play on children’s health and mental well being

•  Understand the role that natural environments have in improving outdoor physical activity for children

Health Benefits of Nature

•  Restorative/Therapeutic •  Increases physical activity •  Reduces childhood stress •  Coping tool for ADD/ADHD •  Developmental benefits:

•  Social, Cognitive, Emotional, Physical

Time Outdoors & Physical Activity

•  Time spent outdoors usually equates to increased physical activity1

•  Study among 10-12 year olds2

•  For every hour spent outside, physical activity increased by 27 minutes/week

•  Prevalence of overweight was 27-41% lower among those spending more time outdoors

1Burdette HL, et al. Arch Pediatr Adol Med 2004;159:46-50. 2Cleland V, et al. Int J Obesity 2008;32:1685-93.

Nature & Physical Activity

•  Canadian emphasis on “green school grounds” •  Diverse environmental features–trees,

gardens, nature trails •  Survey of teachers, parents,

administrators •  70% agreed it increased students’ light-

moderate activity •  50% agreed it increased vigorous activity •  Grounds supported wider variety of play

Dyment JE et al. Health Ed Res 2008;23:952-62

Nature & Physical Activity

•  Associations between healthy weight & availability of > 1 of 13 specific parks within 1 km of residence •  No relationship found between BMI and simply

living near a park •  However, for children who lived within 1 km of

park with a playground, children were 5 times more likely to have a healthy weight

•  Relatively small study of 108 children may limit ability to find significant relationships

Potwarka LR, et al. J Community Health 2008;33:344-50

Nature & Physical Activity •  Larger study of 8 parks in Los Angeles •  Parks in were predominantly African

American or Hispanic neighborhoods §  Poverty range 13.8% to 47.3%

•  2000 individuals counted in each park §  Vigorous activity associated with sports

courts and playgrounds •  Proximity of residence predicts park use

and physical activity §  Those living < 1 mile away were more likely

to use the park and had 38% more exercise sessions than those living farther away

Cohen DA, et al. Amer J Pub Health 2007;97:509-14

2006 Policy Statement “Active healthy living: prevention of childhood obesity through increased physical activity”

•  Lifestyle-related physical activity as opposed to aerobics linked to sustained weight loss

•  Infants and toddlers should be allowed outdoor physical activity and unstructured free play and exploration

•  Parents should encourage children to play outside as much as possible

AAP Council on Sports Medicine and Fitness and Council on School Health. Pediatrics 2006;117:1834-1842.

American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP)

Health Benefits of Nature and Outdoor Activity

Part II: Mental Health

Nature as a Restorative Mechanism

•  Nature alone can influence recovery from surgery •  Compared 23 matched pairs of patients who

underwent a cholecsytectomy •  Randomly assigned the post-surgery patients

to either rooms facing a brick wall or rooms with views of nature

•  Findings: those facing nature had shorter post-operative hospital stays, fewer negative comments from nurses, and took less analgesics

•  Suggests that viewing nature alone can aid in the path of recovery

Ulrich RS. Science, 1984;224:420–421.

Nature as a Restorative Mechanism

•  RCT- used distraction therapy during a flexible bronchoscopy (FB) while consciously sedated

•  Randomly assigned to either a normal FB or FB plus distraction therapy (nature sights and sounds)

•  Patients rated the level of pain experienced and anxiety

•  Findings: Pain control was much better for the intervention group than the control groups [OR: 4.76]

•  Clinicians should supplement analgesic medications with an inexpensive, non-invasive method of distraction therapy

Diette GB et al. Chest 2003;123:941-8.

Effects of Nature on Crime

Kuo et al. Environment and Behavior 2001; 33; 343-367.

•  How could vegetation decrease crime? •  More eyes on the street •  Well maintained vegetation can act as a ‘territorial marker’

– implied surveillance •  Mitigation of Mental Fatigue Symptoms

•  Compared crime rates for 98 Chicago Public Housing Buildings with different levels of vegetation

•  Homogeneous population for Income, Education, Life Circumstances

•  Controlled for •  # of apartments per building •  Building height •  Vacancy rate •  # of occupied units

Effects of Nature on Crime

Reduce Childhood Stress •  Study of 337 rural NY children in 3-5 grade •  Examined child’s self-worth and levels of

psychological distress •  Identified whether they live in natural environment,

using “Naturalness Scale” •  Lewis Stressful Life Events Scale

•  Questions about bullying, argue with parent, peer pressure, recent moves

•  Frequency of occurrences, not severity •  Rutter Child Behavior Questionnaire, Global Self-

Worth subscale

Wells NM & Evans GW. Environment and Behavior 2003;35:311-330.

Reduce Childhood Stress Results

•  Nature appeared to act as a buffer to decrease stress in rural children

•  Lower levels of stress in the child were noted with increased amount of exposure to natural environments

•  The nature exposure effect was especially pronounced for children with the highest levels of stressful events

•  Higher nature associated with positive self worth

Wells NM & Evans GW. Environment and Behavior 2003;35:311-330.

Physical Activity in Natural Environments Effects on mood and blood pressure

Synergistic health effects between physical activity and exposure to nature (“green exercise”) •  Intervention: Subjects ran on treadmill while shown 4

different themes of pictures §  Rural pleasant, urban pleasant, rural unpleasant, urban

unpleasant photographs

•  Results: the rural and urban pleasant nature pictures showed a significant reduction in blood pressure and a more positive effect on mood than exercise alone §  Participants in the rural pleasant group had the largest

reduction in blood pressure Pretty J et al. Internat J Environ Health Res 2005;15:319-37.

Effects of Nature on ADD/ADHD

•  Does contact with nature improve inattentiveness?

•  Survey of parents compared child’s symptoms when engaging in various settings •  Indoor setting– windowless room •  Natural outdoor setting– park, farm,

outdoor neighborhood public space Taylor AF et al. Environment and Behavior 2001;33:54-77.


•  Outcome measure were 4 inattentive symptoms •  Inability to stay focused on unappealing tasks •  Inability to complete tasks •  Inability to listen and follow directions •  Being easily distracted

•  Findings §  Activities in natural settings were helpful in

reducing inattentive symptoms §  As tree cover in the setting increased,

inattentive symptoms decreased

Taylor AF et al. Environment and Behavior 2001;33:54-77.


Nationwide study examined if “green” settings reduced symptoms of ADHD •  Compared green outdoor after-school/

weekend activities to activities in built indoor/outdoor settings

•  Findings: “green outdoor activities reduced symptoms significantly more than did activities conducted in other settings, even when matched across all settings”

Critique: Not randomized, not controlled, “green activities” are not uniformly defined

Kuo FE & Taylor AF. Amer J Pub Health 2004;94:1580-86.


•  Prospective study of low income, urban children who relocated to new home •  n = 17

•  Compared 2 home environments to assess for natural environments •  Pre move visit and post move visit several months

later •  Compared few natural elements and those with

plants and views of nature •  Direct Attention Capacity was measured by

Attention-Deficit Disorders Evaluation Scale Wells NM. Environ Behav 2000;32:775-95


•  New home was more likely to have greater number of natural elements than old one

•  The change in the natural environment was a significant predictor of the improvement in their attention score

•  While the general quality of the housing also improved after the move, this was not a predictor of improved attention

Wells NM. Environ Behav 2000;32:775-95


•  Children completed a series of puzzles designed to create mental fatigue

•  Children with ADHD guided through 20 minute walk in 3 different environments •  A city park •  An urban area •  A residential area

•  Children next completed tests of concentration and impulse control •  Concentration significantly better after a walk in the

park, compared to other 2 settings Tayor AF Kuo FE. J Atten Disord 2009;12:402

AAP Clinical Report: importance of play in a child’s social, emotional, cognitive, and physical development

•  Benefits of play – develop healthier cognition, a more developed imagination, dexterity, emotional strength, and physical strength

•  Play builds active healthy children •  Advice for pediatricians: children should get free

unstructured play outside

Ginsburg KR, et al. Pediatrics, 2007;119:182-191.

Nature Aiding Childhood Development

Environmental Considerations

National Movement

•  Last Child in the Woods by Richard Louv

•  Let’s Move Outside www.letsmove.gov/outside/

•  AAP and White House Obesity Initiative www.aap.org/obesity/whitehouse/

•  Exercise is Medicine www.exerciseismedicine.org

Prescribing Exercise •  Swedish study measured effectiveness of

issuing 6300 physical activity referrals over 2 years •  Half of the patients reached reported increased

physical activity at 3 months and 12 months¹

•  Program in Spain recruited 4000 physically inactive patients and provided exercise referrals to half •  6 months later, patients who received the

referrals were more active²

¹ Leijon et al. Scand J Med Sci Sports 2009;19:627-36. ² Grandes et al. Arch Intern Med 2009;169:694-701

What Pediatricians Can Do

•  Recognize that families may use the Internet as a primary source of information •  Emphasize appropriate sites for

information (ie AAP, CDC, etc) •  www.aap.org/healthtopics/nutrition.cfm

•  Promote healthy eating habits •  Decrease screen time to ≤ 2 hours/day •  Promote appropriate activity levels in

children (1 hour per day)

What Pediatricians Can Do

•  Encourage that at least some of this activity occur in the outdoor, natural environment •  May be particularly relevant for patients with

ADHD and other mental health issues •  Particular emphasis should be on

unstructured, exploratory play •  Become advocates in the school to

support physical education in the schools

Prescribing Nature

•  Ample evidence attributing improved health with physical activity

•  Some evidence that nature specifically can improve attention and other psychosocial aspects of health and reduce stress

•  Children should be encouraged to play outside

•  Physicians should consider “prescribing” outdoor play for physical and mental health benefits


Tools & Resources

Pediatric Environmental History Forms (English & Spanish)

www.neefusa.org/health/children_nature/resources.htm

NEEF Prescription (English & Spanish)


AAP Prescription (English & Spanish)


Patient Brochure (English)


Patient Brochure (Spanish)


Children’s Health and Nature Fact Sheet


Review Article

Using Nature and Outdoor Activity to Improve Children’s Health--McCurdy, Winterbottom, Mehta, Roberts. Current Problems in Pediatric and Adolescent Health Care 2010;5:102-117.

www.cppah.com

Acknowledgments

This presentation was designed by:

James Roberts, MD, MPH- Medical University of South Carolina; Representative, American Academy of Pediatrics

Joel Forman, MD- Mount Sinai Medical Center

Sophie Balk, MD- Children’s Hospital at Montefiore

Contact Information

www.neefusa.org

Leyla Erk McCurdy Senior Director, Health & Environment National Environmental Education Foundation Email: [email protected] Phone: 202-261-6488

Children and Nature InitiativeObesity-Related Diseases Hypertension • BMI

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